Getting Customers to Tell Your Story Online
Word of mouth marketing is considered by many to be the most desired form of marketing. The trust, referrals, and overall brand building buzz that’s garnered by customers spreading the good word through these channels is worth its weight in gold. Some products, services, and experiences naturally produce chatter, but there are certainly things that any company can do to stimulate word of mouth and cash in on the buzz.
Consumers already get it.
Consumers use the social web to talk about everything, including your business and your products. Sometimes they are praiseworthy, sometimes not. There are no strategic meetings or secret gatherings where consumers discuss which products to talk about and when. They just happen, and happen organically.
It isn’t complicated. When you boil it down it’s about giving your customers interesting content to share and thereby advocate for you.
So what can we give to our customers to get them talking?
There are nine themes people talk about the most.
1. Aspirations and beliefs: Aspirations are helpful because they engender feelings and help people engage with a company on more of an emotional level. They help us see into a company’s soul and understand its bigger cause.
2. Anxieties: Fear and anxiety themes grab people’s attention. But the overuse of the practice has exacerbated consumer skepticism. Use it wisely by backing up your views with facts to justify the threat and explain the possible ramifications.
3. How-to: How-to views, including advice and lessons, provide people with pragmatic ideas that they can put to work to solve immediate problems. To stand out, to make sure your ideas are fresh, insightful, and maybe even sprinkled with a bit of counterintuitive wisdom.
4. David vs. Goliath: The David versus Goliath story is a classic, evergreen theme that taps into our deepest love for the underdog.
5. Counterintuitive / Contrarian: The boldness of contrarian views grabs attention; the more original and less arrogant they are, the more useful they will be in provoking meaningful conversations. Framing views counter to how we intuitively think about topics – going against natural “gut instincts” – pauses and then resets how we think and talk about concepts. Challenging assumptions is good for debate and discussion, and especially important in protecting corporate reputation.
6. Avalanche about to roll: Big, emerging trends that could damage a business or industry practice wake people up and fuel discussions about what’s coming and what it might mean.
7. Personalities: people want to talk about people. Good personal stories that help people feel good about an executive and his or her organization are good for business.
8. Seasonal/Event-related: Talking about ideas tied to events is a well used, proven strategy. That’s why it showed up in the research about common themes that people talk about. To me, it’s the least interesting of the themes because these events come and go so quickly, and the event-related technique is such a common marketing practice. However, it’s a proven sort-term strategy.
9. Glitz and glam: We are instantly drawn to stories about celebrities and parallels between our more mundane business world and that of the glamorous entertainment industry. The glitz and glam are fun and fabulous. They give us a lot to talk about with many people.
To become relevant, you need to engage your customers. As social media continues its meteoric ascent, newly empowered consumers wield more control than ever before. Marketers must create interesting stories their customers can share through social media by participating and encouraging conversations. The end result will improve customer service and will help turn loyal customers into passionate advocates.
Presented: Friday, Mar. 18, 2011 The Utah Chapter of IABC announced that Shane Martindale will be the guest speaker at the organization’s professional development luncheon on March 18. “Getting Customers to Tell Your Story” is a topic that every business—retail, wholesale, and direct sales—can relate to as every business wants to improve its business strategy for increasing its fan base.
Sources: Lois Kelly, Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing
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